Many common pieces of furniture and other fixtures such as cabinets have drawers or at least one hinged door that allows access to an interior portion of the furniture or cabinet housing. Anyone can appreciate the sound of drawer or door “slap,” which is produced when the drawer or door is allowed to close freely on the associated piece of furniture or cabinet housing, guided only by the closing force applied by the person along with the predetermined mechanics of the associated slide track (for drawers) or hinge assembly (for doors). Such “slap” is not only noisy, but over time can cause damage and wear to the drawers and doors, the associated furniture housing, and the respective sliding or hinging hardware.
It would be desirable to provide a damping mechanism that can be universally installed in preexisting furniture and cabinetry that would automatically slow the rate at which the drawer or door closes to provide a controlled closing rate that eliminates the occurrence of such “slap.”